The claim: Apple AirPods destroy your health, emit 5 times more radiation than over-ear headphones and emit "more radiation than a microwave" A post circulating on Facebook captions a photo of Apple AirPods with an arresting warning: "There is no nice way to say this," the post reads, "but if you use these, let your child use these or buy these for a family member or friend, you are helping to destroy your and their health."

Text circulating in numerous identical posts claims AirPods are more dangerous than other devices, including over-the-ear headphones and microwave ovens, because of their proximity to the skull and their radiation emissions. "These emit 5x the radiation of over the ear blue tooth[sic] headphones because the AirPod literally sits in the ear and into the cavity leading to the skull," reads a Facebook post from Lisa's Natural Herb and Wellness Shop that has been shared 49 times since May 2. "They emit more radiation than a microwave and what’s worse, they emit this even while turned off." 

Like most wireless devices, AirPods use radiofrequency waves – a type of radiation – to communicate. While some scientists believe current safety standards for radiation emissions are insufficient, existing evidence does not conclusively show that the levels of radiofrequency radiation in Airpods or other wireless devices are harmful. The maximum amount of radiofrequency waves that a person would absorb from AirPods is well below the limit set by the Federal Communications Commission, and they don't emit radiation while turned off. Contrary to the post's claims, AirPods don't emit five times more radiation than over-the-ear Bluetooth headphones, nor do they emit significantly more radiation into their environment than a microwave does, according to radiology experts and product information from the Federal Communications Commission.